Ashley Steiner Kelly

Advised a national floor manufacturer in connection with a reorganization and reduction in force of its workforce, with no claims filed.

Defended a national medical transcription company in a putative class action in federal court in California alleging numerous violations of state and federal wage and hour laws, securing a dismissal with no monies paid.

Represented the Board of Directors of a financial institution in connection with an internal investigation of the client’s Chief Executive Officer regarding complaints of discrimination and harassment, completing the investigation and advising the client regarding appropriate action without claims being asserted by the complainant or the CEO.

Represented the Board of Directors of a financial institution in connection with an internal investigation of the client’s Chief Executive Officer regarding complaints of discrimination and harassment, completing the investigation and advising the client regarding appropriate action without claims being asserted by the complainant or the CEO.

Conducted audit of real estate developer’s wage and hour classifications and pay practices, identifying potential areas of risk and advising regarding the implementation of best practices going forward.

Successfully defended an IT staffing company against multiple simultaneous charges of race discrimination, resolving the matters with no monies paid and avoiding a potential class action.

Represented the largest healthcare practice of its type in Georgia in connection with a potential class action alleging race discrimination threatened by current and former employees. Although the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission indicated that it was going to pursue the case, we were able to negotiate a favorable settlement prior to suit being brought by the plaintiffs or the agency.

Successfully defended numerous physician practices with respect to related federal court actions alleging improper billing and secured an order granting sanctions against the plaintiff for filing a frivolous lawsuit.

Advised a multistate distribution company in connection with a comprehensive analysis and overhaul of its restrictive covenant agreements with its workforce, effectively stemming the migration of key employees to its primary competitor.

Conducted an internal investigation regarding allegations of racial discrimination against a chief executive of a national equipment rental company.

Defended a leading wholesale distributor of petroleum products in several lawsuits by company executives alleging wrongful termination and breach of employment agreements.

Represented a distributor of durable medical equipment in connection with an internal investigation of allegations of sexual harassment against a senior executive.

Represented a national pipeline company in the restructuring of its twenty-plus state workforce, including providing management training, risk analysis, and handling all transactional aspects of the restructuring, including for the company’s union and non-union workforce. As trial counsel, the firm then secured summary judgment in favor of the company against an age discrimination claim flowing from the restructuring, with the trial court specifically commenting that the process for implementing the restructuring was fair, non-discriminatory and undertaken in good faith. This ruling was then affirmed by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Represented a regional energy provider in connection with an internal investigation of multiple complaints of gender bias against several executives, working in tandem with the company’s internal ethics compliance team.

Represented several management teams in executive contract and compensation negotiations as part of billions of dollars of acquisitions by leading technology companies, including Cisco Systems and IBM.

Successfully represented a regional heating and air conditioning company in defending against breach of contract and fiduciary duty claims filed by a former executive who was alleging diminution in his ownership interests following his departure to form a competing enterprise.